A Busy Mama’s ‘Everyday’ Makeup Routine

As a new mom, I don’t have much time for myself. I spend my days playing with Basil, taking care of Basil, cleaning, and doing mounds of laundry – seriously though, how can one tiny human dirty SO many clothes?! This means that most days I’m too busy to bother with finding an outfit (plus, I mean who am I kidding, Basil will probably spit up on it or something anyway) so I end up wearing leggings and a sweater with my hair up in a bun or back in a French braid. On the days that I decide to take a few extra minutes for myself and get ready, I have a pretty good makeup routine down to get it done as quick as I can.

So first off, I like to keep the products I use most in a separate makeup bag from the rest of my stuff, even though I don’t have anywhere near as much as I used to. Check out how I decluttered my makeup collection if you haven’t yet!

I never wear foundation or bb cream, so that automatically shaves a few extra minutes off of my routine. I wash my face using whatever generic face wash I have on hand and then moisturize with something just as generic – bonus points if it has an SPF in it!

*Noteworthy products are linked at the bottom of this post if you’re interested!*

Generally, I start with my eyebrows – I use the ELF clear lash & brow mascara and the ELF Instant Lift Brow Pencil in deep brown. Lately, I’ve been loving this combo – it’s super easy and I can get my brows to look extra crisp and clean in a matter of minutes!

For eyeshadow, I like to keep it light and bright. I’ve been loving ColourPop’s Fem Rosa ‘SHE’ palette lately! It’s so pretty and I feel like the shades work well with my eye color. I like to just do an all over the lid color most days, so I just do one of the lighter shimmery shades. I use this palette for my eyebrow and inner corner highlights too. I don’t really use eyeliner, but I do like to use some of the darker shades in the eyeshadow palette to kind of smear on my lower lash line for a little more definition.

I use the ELF eyelash curler and whatever mascara I have on hand – right now it’s Maybelline Lash Sensational. To be honest, it’s probably one of my least favorite mascaras I’ve used in a while, but it gets the job done. I think it’s too wet and gooey, so if that’s the kind of mascara you go for, you may like it. My (not so) secret to getting my lashes spaced apart nicely and not clumpy or spidery looking is my handy eyelash comb! I’ve even been using one since my cringey middle school makeup days, that’s how much I love it and swear by it! Be warned, it is a little scary looking and you have to be careful not to scratch your eyes – which I have done before and trust me, ithurts! – but it seriously makes all the difference!! If you don’t have one, I HIGHLY recommend getting one!

Next, I move onto my face. Since I don’t use foundation or anything, I just highlight my cheekbones. I’ve been loving the Anastasia Glow Kit in Gleam, which I can’t find a link to other than used palettes, which seems super gross and unsanitary to me… ew. I seriously love this palette so much! Sometimes I even use these shades on my eyelids as an eyeshadow if I really want to be shimmery and light – also great for those days that you need or want to look more awake than you are! I also really like the ColourPop Super Shock Highlighter in the shade Monster, if you’re looking for a good cream highlight rather than powder.

As for my lips, I’m allergic to most things, which makes it even more pointless for me to constantly be adding new lip products to my makeup collection. There are a few things that don’t bother my lips – I like Revlon lipsticks, NYX liquid lipsticks, ColourPop liquid lipsticks, and Jeffree Star liquid lipsticks. Other than those, I generally just use Vaseline and maybe a berry-ish colored tint over the top of that if I feel like I need some more color to my face.

So there you have it! Reading through this now it kind of seems like a lot, but I usually only need 10-15 minutes if I’m really trying to make it look decent. On days where I’m extra rushed but still want to feel a little put together, I’ll just lightly fill my brows in and curl my lashes and call it good.

this is me on *most* days aka when I don’t wear makeup

Doing my makeup has always been kind of therapeutic to me. I like to sit down, put on some music, and take my sweet time. The last few months that just hasn’t been possible for me though, so a quick routine just to make myself feel a little more me does the trick!

Published by Izzy Tehle

I’m a twenty-two year old mama to Basil, and fiancé to my amazing man Michael.
I’ve been lucky enough to be able to stay home with our son, and have the occasional free-time during Basil’s naps, so I decided to start this blog! I’ve always loved writing and photography, so I’m hoping this will help me experiment with those hobbies and give myself a creative outlet as well!
View all posts by Izzy Tehle